Launch of the Gansu Revitalization and Innovation Project

In partnership with:  

World Bank, Department of Culture and Tourism of Gansu Province 

Focus

Strengthen and raise tourism standards within the Gansu Province of China through the development of targeted tourism strategies and the organization of capacity-building trainings 

Context:  

Together with the Department of Culture and Tourism of Gansu Province and under the umbrella of the World Bank, UN Tourism will provide Gansu Province stakeholders with technical assistance in the area of tourism development by addressing: (i) rural-urban disparities and a lack of connectivity between “hubs and spokes” that may hinder tourism length-of-stay and spending, and the development of self-sustainable creative tourism products; (ii) deficiencies in the sphere of tourism skills and competencies, primarily regarding the international marketplace; and (iii) limitations in the international awareness of the Gansu Province as a key Silk Road node and passageway. To unleash the province’s competitiveness, a Tourism Human Capital Strategy and an International Marketing Strategy will be prepared for the Province, in addition to a week-long capacity-building training at UN Tourism Headquarters. 

Highlights: 

In April 2024, the first official project management meeting took place, with attending representatives from Gansu Province, the World Bank, UN Tourism and UN Tourism’s expert teams. Apart from kick-starting project implementation, relevant field visit inspections were conducted in Lanzhou, Qin’an and Tianshui, the latter home to the historic Maijishan Grottoes site. Located along one of the historic Silk Road routes, the Maijishan Grottoes, as part of the "Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor" site, were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014.